Moments In Time
by Ghostwriter
Summary: In another life, certain moments in time shaped one Anthony DiNozzo.
1. Chance Meeting

MOMENTS IN TIME

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Just an idea I had cause I'm a dork. NCIS belongs to Donald P. Bellisario. This is a prequel fic to what will eventually be a Tony/Kate retelling of NCIS.

HAWAII-TONY IS TWELVE-YEARS OLD

 _I can't believe he left me here_ , Tony thought. He had been by himself for two days now even though the old man had promised that they'd be spending time together. And then he had gone off on some sort of business deal. The preteen let out a snort. Business deal. Right. The old man had probably noticed a pretty face or someone to con. And he was in this hotel by himself. Well…at least the room had a beautiful view. In fact, why not go exploring? Yeah, that sounded good. His stomach grumbled. Crap. He needed food. That settled it. With that, he grabbed the hotel key, put it in his pants pocket, and headed out. While this was going on, Jeanne Benoit was exploring the property. _These business deals of Papa's are so boring. So glad he agreed to let Francesco watch me for a while_ , she thought to herself. And she didn't like the smarmy smile of the man her father had met a couple of days ago, especially since he had introduced himself as "the real Anthony DiNozzo" as if that was supposed to impress them. Her father was not a man who was easily impressed. Her eyes flickered as she continued on. Presently, she saw a boy around her age, edging towards one of the food carts, sneaking one of the produce. _Looks like he hasn't eaten in a couple of days,_ she thought to herself. Making a quick decision, she went up to the cart, placing money on it, causing the boy to turn.

"You're dressed quite impeccably. Why steal the food?" she wondered.

"The old man left me in our room two days ago to make a deal with someone named Benoit," he replied, mispronouncing the name.

"Benoit," she corrected, giving him the French pronunciation.

"How did you-" he started to ask.

"He's my father and he won't be very pleased to hear about this," she responded.

"No, no, no, no, no! If the old man finds out I'm complaining, he'll kill me!" he cried, his eyes widening. _And things are going well. I don't want to be hurt again_ , he thought to himself. So he had been left alone. That was nothing new. At least he hadn't been smacked around this trip. But that could change if the girl complained.

"Okay, I won't tell," she promised. "You hungry? Francesco always makes too much for me and Papa."

"Yeah, that'd be great." With that, she led him away. "I'm Jeanne by the way."

"Jeanne Benoit. I like it." Tony wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling that things were looking up.


	2. Spring Break

SPRING BREAK

AUHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Donald P. Bellisario.

SPRING BREAK 1994

Caitlin Todd, commonly known as Kate, was having the time of her life, singing and dancing to the band on the beach. _I'm so glad I let the others talk me into coming here for Spring Break_ , she thought to herself. They had been right, she had really needed this. She had been studying so much for finals that she had nearly burned herself out. Luckily, they had convinced her to come to Panama City for the weekend. Seeing a bunch of girls heading towards one area of a makeshift stage, she did the same, biting her lip hesitantly when she realized that it was a wet t-shirt contest. _Aw, the hell with it_ , she thought to herself and then headed in the direction of the stage. The whole point of her coming here was to shed her goody-two-shoes image, and what better way to do that than a wet t-shirt contest? Besides, it looked kind of fun. As she continued to approach, a group of guys noticed her and grinned.

"Hey, Baby. You playing?" one asked.

"Yup," she confirmed.

"Awesome," the same boy responded and she went to get in line to wait her turn. When it was finally her turn, she tried to brace herself, but shrieked at the coldness. "Oh, sorry about that! Shoulda warned ya. It's a bit on the cold side," he apologized and Kate grinned as she left the stage.

"All good," she told him as he helped her down. "I'm Kate."

"Tony."


	3. On Our Way

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Donald P. Bellisario.

1998

Tony smiled at Kate.

"I can't believe this is happening," he said to her. "I'm going to be a cop and you're getting snatched up to be some mysterious secret agent," he continued and she laughed.

"I probably won't even make it," she reminded him.

"Oh you **will** ," he responded. "Because you're a rock star like that," he stated, his grin growing. "Seriously, I'm proud of you, Babe," he said. _Can't believe she's doing it_ , he thought to himself. Not because he didn't think she'd succeed-no, he knew she **would** -but because she was probably going to meet someone that was way more suited for her than he was. What could he ever hope to offer her?

"Thanks, hon," she said softly. Then, "Hey, I know that look, and **you** Anthony DiNozzo, need to stop worrying about me finding someone else. It's never going to happen." _Hate that he can doubt himself at times_ , she thought. However, she knew **exactly** where it stemmed from: his abusive jackass of a father. While she had never witnessed the man raising a hand to him, she had certainly heard him berating her boyfriend enough. And he always took it. Which was why she was glad that he didn't have to worry about him anymore.

"But what can I really offer you? A girl like you deserves the world. I can't give you that. Not anymore. Senior cut me off."

"Screw him. You're better off without him," she stated, placing a hand on his cheek. "Besides, you said you knew someone who would help you out if you asked," she reminded.

"Yeah, but I don't like asking him. Don't want to bother him with this," he responded. Rene had gone out on a limb for him once when he was twelve and he didn't want to take advantage of his generosity. He could handle Senior and everything he dished out.

"I get it-you want to make it on your own."

"Yeah."

"Just promise me that if things get bad, you'll call him? Or me?"

"I promise." Kate smiled. She was well aware that Tony didn't like to make such promises, so the fact that he **had** meant that he was taking her seriously.

"I've gotta go." With that, she gave him a kiss and headed off. She wasn't sure what this opportunity would hold for her, but she was excited to find out.


	4. Wish You Were Here

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Donald P. Bellisario

2001

Gibbs was silent as he leaned against his car, looking at the car next to him. Detective DiNozzo looked wrecked. _Give him time. He just found out his partner was dirty_ , he reminded himself. Yeah, he wanted to get out of Baltimore, but he didn't want to press the kid. In his own car, Tony's shoulders slumped as he got into his car. Danny was dirty. How had he missed it? He didn't understand. Had he been **that** blind to it? To **him**? And what about Gibbs' offer? Should he take it? What if he ended up regretting it? The ringing of a phone cut his musings off.

"Girlfriend?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah," Tony responded as he picked up. "Kate, hey Babe," he greeted.

"Hey. You sound drained. Long case?" Kate queried.

"You could say that." He bit his lip, unsure of how to proceed. _The truth. Tell her the truth_ , he thought. "I just found out that Danny's dirty," he confessed.

"Oh, damn. Tony. Are you okay?" she asked, the concern showing in her voice.

"Yeah. He didn't hurt me. I just confronted him with it and left," he assured.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she scolded and he heaved out a sigh.

"Honestly…I wish you were here. Could use you right about now," he admitted.

"I love you," she told him and smiled. _Needed to hear that_ , he thought.

"I love you," echoed. "The guy who worked the case with me-Agent Gibbs. He offered me a job with his agency-Naval Criminal Investigation Services-and I'm not sure I should take it," he admitted.

"So you'd be a Navy cop?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Could you be happy there?"

"I-I don't know. I mean….Danny was dirty and I didn't see it. Maybe I'm not the investigator I thought I was. Maybe I don't have the br-"

"Stop right there, Anthony DiNozzo. You're smart. Don't even start that crap." Tony chuckled at Kate's tone. She never liked it when he was down on himself. "You were thrown for a loop and he's offering you a way to get your balance back. I say take it."

"Okay then. I will." As he said this, his hand fingered the jewelry box in his pocket. Inside was a simple diamond which he knew would fit her hand perfectly. Getting an idea, he opened the jewelry box to reveal the diamond, took a picture of it and then sent it to her with a message. Hearing the alert, Kate went to open up the text which read **Caitlin Todd, will you marry me?** She laughed. _Such a dork_ , she thought to herself. Yes she would've preferred a proposal that was face-to-face, but then again, with their schedules, when would they have the time?

"Yes, Tony. I will marry you," she answered and he grinned. "Now get going and do what you need to do to become a Navy cop." He laughed and hung up and started the car. Seeing this, Gibbs got into his car and headed out.


End file.
